PhD Candidate The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong, China (People's Republic)
Here we disclose a fast (ON time~50 microsecond and OFF time~25 microsecond at 55 degree centigrade), high-contrast, continuous 2 pi phase modulator without fringe field effect (FFE). This phase modulator is based on Kerr effect of vertical aligned deformed helix ferroelectric liquid crystal (VADHFLC). Specifically, FFE is a long-term inevitable barrier for nematic liquid crystal (NLC). Surprisingly, it is the 1st-time found that no FFE exists for VADHFLC even for phase modulator with 1 micrometer pixel pitch, which is an attractive feature for ultra-high-resolution applications. Moreover, the Kerr constant is 88 nm.V^(-2), and the contrast ratio is larger than 1000:1. It is a promising candidate for high-PPI AR/VR displays, wavelength selective switch (WSS), hologram, adaptive optics, and LiDARs.